Saturday, October 28, 2006

Halloween is almost here and the bags of candy are aplenty. I'm taunted by well stocked shelves and overflowing bins whenever I walk into the market. And not to mention the bags, bowls and jars at the office. But I'm not complaining. I love a box of tombstone and scary cat shaped SweetTarts as much as the next gal. I do have some preferences when it comes to big-brand Halloween candy however. I will always choose sour candy over chocolate candy. I prefer the miniature sized candy bar over the fun size. I only eat the Special Dark from the Hershey's miniatures variety pack. I never eat candy corn and it takes me more than three licks to get to the center of my Tootsie Roll Pop.

Aside from the sour candies, Reese's peanut butter cups are my favorites. I never, ever eat the regular sized ones but I love the teeny-tiny-mini ones sold in bags. I think there's something about the ratio of chocolate coating to peanut butter filling that I find more appealing in the mini than in the regular ones. Oh, how I wish they would make it with dark instead of milk chocolate!

So when I saw this chocolate glazed peanut butter tart in an old issue of Fine Cooking magazine, I knew I had to make it. I mean, the tart looks like a Reese's peanut butter cup! All I have to say is omigoodess! The filling is an amazingly decadent peanut butter pastry cream. Peanut butter pastry cream – a phrase that I have never uttered before tasting this luscious creation but will forever speak with the utmost reverence. Can you tell how much I loved this tart? The peanut butter pastry cream filling was topped off with a rich chocolate glaze. You could gild the lily and add a dollop of lightly whipped cream too. Heaven on a plate!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tart

Cookie Crust1 cup finely ground chocolate wafers (I used Trader Joe's brand "oreos" – just the wafers not the cream filling. Feel free to use chocolate graham crackers or Nabisco chocolate wafers. I used a food processor to grind my wafers, but crushing them in a zip top bag with a rolling pin works well too.)2 tbsp granulated sugar1 1/2 ounces (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, mix cookie crumbs and sugar with a fork until well mixed. Drizzle butter and mix until crumbs are moistened. Press crumbs evenly into a 9 1/2 - inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake crust for about 10 minutes until fragrant. Let crust cool completely before filling.

In a medium saucepan, bring milk and salt to a simmer. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, brown sugar and flour. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle in half of the hot milk over the egg mixture. Pour mixture back into the remaining milk in the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 4 minutes. Continue to cook, still whisking constantly, for 1 more minute. Remove pan from heat and whisk in peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour hot filling into cooled crust and spread evenly. Carefully press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the filling (to prevent a skin from forming). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before glazing.

To make the glaze and finish the tart

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over medium heat. Stir corn syrup into the melted mixture until smooth. Remove plastic from chilled tart. Carefully pour the hot glaze over the filling and spread evenly to cover the filling. Refrigerate the tart for 30 minutes before serving.

Oh Man! That looks awesome. The only way I eat PB is in a Reese's cup...and I am a milk chocolate lover so I'll try yours with milk choc. Hubbs has this pie I make for his Bday with milk choc and PB mousses. Can't go wrong with choc. (any kind) and PB.

Wow! Now this is a blog I can eat. I mean read. We don't know about peanut butter cups in New Zealand but we know about peanut butter. It looks good so I think I'll try it. Plus I love cheesecake. I'll be back..soon.

OMG *drool, drool*I have absolutely no idea what Reese’s peanut butter cups are but judging these pictures and your mouth-watering description I am sure missing out on something! but to be honest, I really don't think it can be better than your creation - heaven indeed!

Wow. Just wow. I am doing test batches to figure out a reeses cake for my friend's birthday and I think yours just won. Next time I will make more of the crust materials so it can go all the way up the sides and I will add a little more peanut butter (I want his to actually seem just like a gigantic reeses). Otherwise perfect. I made it Sat and there are only 2 slices left. I will be posting about it after his bday, but until then, just WOW.

Sheila - There are many reasons why a pastry cream (like the PB filling) would end up lumpy. I could list some here in my comment but it's easier to give you a link to a good resource. I hope this helps. http://www.baking911.com/custard/101_pastrycream.htm

I made this as a holiday dessert. Looked great & tasted even better even. However, the peanut butter "pastry cream" was just that cream.When I attempted to cut thru the chocolate topping, the peanut butter cream collapsed and oozed out of the sides of the slice.Sooo, I'll make this again but will attempt to stiffen up the filling by doubling the peanut butter qualtity & adding flour. I'll also soften up the chocolate gnache by adding some cream.In the meantime for all y'all trying it, I'd recommend freezing the torte & pre-slice while frozen before serving

This thing is amazing and I have made it for years. Take it out of the fridge 30-60 minutes before slicing. The chocolate top will soften some and prevent the peanut butter filling from squeezing out of the slice.

The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It's sometimes simply referred to as alpineberry. I love to bake, cook and garden. My blog is a place to share my recipes and other tiny tidbits of my life.